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Cars that jumped, fell most in what people really paid

USATODAY
1:59 p.m. EDT June 12, 2013

Average transaction prices up:Chevrolet's lineup, going for higher prices, now includes new products, redesigns and some recently refreshed models including this 2013 Chevrolet Traverse, and GM has been working to restrain sales incentives. GM Wieck

Average transaction prices up: Buyers continued to opt for upscale models and option packages on Jeeps, including this Grand Cherokee Summit. The Grand Cherokee was redesigned for the 2011 model and refreshed for the new 2014. Chrysler Group

Average transaction prices down:A Jaguar XK at a winter driving event in Finland. Jaguar is giving much of its lineup more fuel efficient powertrain options and available all-wheel-drive, which should expand its popularity, but continues to work to overcome a past reputation for ownership cost and quality issues. Jaguar

Average transaction prices down:Kia continues to boost it reputation and prices it can command with new designs. But while the aging2013 Kia Sedona has a value price for a minivan, it trails newer vans from Honda, Toyota and Chrysler Group in popularity with affluent buyers. Bruce Benedict, Kia

Sales of new vehicles last month were healthy, up 8.2% from a year earlier, according to Autodata, but the average transaction price of a new vehicle edged up only a bare 0.4%, says Kelley Blue Book.

That increase, to an average out-the-door, all-in tab of $31,359, was the same whether compared to the previous month, or to May a year ago. In other words, average transaction prices haven't changed a lot the past year. But, bad news for car buyers, that means they have stayed near record levels.

Car companies might, in private, say, "Hey, it's your own fault. You keep buying new vehicles with all the bells and whistles we love to include."

Auto buyers would counter: "Hah! As if we had a choice. Dealers don't stock anything but the bells-and-whistles models. And right now, our cars are an average 11-plus years old, so when we hit the showrooms we need, not just want, new cars; can't wait a month or two for one ordered form the factory."

The price calculations come from Kelley Blue Book's analysis of May sales.

Biggest gainers from May of 2012:

•Land Rover, up 8.9% to an average $69,573.

•Jeep, up 8.4% to an average $33,362

•Scion, up 7.8% to $21,324.

•Chevrolet, 6.1% to $30,983.

All those brands had new or recently updated models on sale during the 12 months that ended in May. New models re-energize buyers, some of whom are willing to pay premium prices to get the latest thing.

New models also give automakers an opportunity to, as they say, "take price." Meaning raise the price, usually justifying the move by noting the additional power or mileage or technology or array of standard features in the latest version.

Biggest losers:

•Smart, down 6.6% to an average $14,905.

•Dodge, down 5.2% to $27,443.

•Kia, down 4.5% to $22,105.

•Jaguar, down 3.5% to $66,633.

Falling transaction prices could mean an automaker is giving bigger discounts to fight off a competitor that has a new lineup, or that has big discounts of its own. Or it could mean buyers simply are tiring of a brand.